Red Wolf
by bloodmemories
Summary: All the lords of the north were gathered in the great hall as they once had been before, when they proclaimed John king, Sansa Queen and now to discuss the return of the lost Starks. Sansa was sat in the middle of the table as her right as Queen. To her right sat her lord father Lord Eddard Stark, his wife Lady Catelyn Stark and their eldest son Robb.


The Red Wolf

A/N: This is a one shot based off of the story Wolves Without Teeth by Truthbealiar on Archive of our own. This idea has been in my mind ever since I read the most recent chapter. In wolves, all the passed starks are returned to life after the end of the series and Arya, Bran and Jon have also died and been resurrected. Jon only remembers when his men killed him and nothing after that. Knowing this, you can read this story without reading the original but I encourage you to read the original it's amazing.

All the lords of the north were gathered in the great hall as they once had been before, when they proclaimed john king, Sansa Queen and now to discuss the return of the lost starks.

Sansa was sat in the middle of the table as her right as Queen. To her right sat her lord father Lord Eddard Stark, his wife Lady Catelyn Stark and their eldest son Robb. To Sansa's left were her siblings Arya, Brandon and Rickon.

"My lords, your gathered here to discuss the return of my family. While it is a happy occasion it does bring up some pressing questions that I feel I must put before you." Sansa stopped to take a survey of the men gathered around her, taking note of the faces that seemed to no longer be listening to her.

"For years you followed my father as lord of the nord and warden of the north, then you followed my brother Robb and crowned him king in the north. Then you followed my brother Jon snow and named him king in the north." Sansa said.

"What?" Lady Catelyn, Lord Ned, Jon and Robb all said at the same time. Sansa did not respond, merely held up a hand commanding silence.

"My family are still unaware of what transpired after their deaths, Jon's has lost his memory of every after the mutiny of the men at castle black. Therefore if you mean to speak, speak true and speak in great detail." Sansa said over the mustering of the gathered lords.

"I gathered you here to inform you of this and to ask you to what you will do now that you're kings of old have risen again?"

"Your grace, what do you mean?" a lord ask from the back.

"Do you wish to replace me with my father or one of my brothers now that you can? Tell me now to my face, do not plot behind my behind my back like a coward's, we are not cowards in the north." Sansa said harshly.

The room was suddenly unnaturally silently, the air thick with tension. None had been expecting that. It was silent for a long minute until the sound of boots echoed in the silent great hall. Lord Glover was walked to stand in front of the table where the starks were sitting.

"Lord Glover"

"Your Grace. I will speak as true as i know it. The north followed your father faithfully and with honor, when he was innocently executed we answered your brothers call to war. We stood behind him when he declared an independent north and we crowned him King in the north." Lord Glover voices echoed in the silent hall, bring up old ghosts.

"King Robb fought valiantly however he lost to many allies and he married the wrong woman. He lost the war, lost the north and then lost his life. The north lost its way after, we were conquered by Boltons. Cruel bastards." Murmured curses were heard from around the hall.

"You finally escaped King's Landing, Your Grace. Only to be made a prisoner again, but this time it was in your own home. You were forcefully wed to Ramsay Bolton. Theon Greyjoy helped you to escape Ramsey and guided to castle black." Lord Glover said looking straight at her, his words were for no one but her.

"It was at Castle black that you were reunited with your brother Jon snow."

"I had never seen a more happy reunion." Ser brienne said for her place standing on the side of high table, standing guard, ready to defend her Queen and her family.

"As soon as he laid eyes on you he ran to you. No word had reached him of your death or that of the remainder of your siblings however he had thought you all dead."

Lord Glover nodded at Ser Brienne to thank her for speaking before he began again. "Together you and Lord Snow began to try and rally the northern lord to take back winterfell and the north."

"THey were sitting before the fire. Where will you go she said, where will we go, if i don't watch over you fathers ghost will come back and murder me. He said." Ser Brienne resisted the interaction that she had witnessed.

"Where will we go? She said. We can't stay here not after what happened he said. There is only one place we can go, home She said. Well shall we just tell the boltons to pack up and leave then he said. We'll take it back from them, she said. Lord Snow fought her grace he didn't want to fight any more. Winterfell is our home, its ours and Ary's and Bran and Rickon's wherever they are, it belongs to our family. We have to fight for it. We don;t take back the north we;ll never be safe, i want you to help me but I'll do it myself if i have to Queen Sansa Said." Ser Brienne again resited.

Lord Glover continues speaking as if he has if he has been the one that had spoken the two stories are one. "You both began trying to build up an army big enough to take back Winterfell and overthrow the boltons. The two of you campaigned house to house lord to lord and i am ashamed to say that a great many of us turned you away." Lord Glover looked down at the floor at this admission.

"That didn't stop you. Jon Snow faced the Bolton army with more wildlings than Northman. Ramsey Bolton lead you brother Lord Rickon out on a rope to the battlefield, said if you could get to him in time he would live. Then he made him run and he cut him down with his arrow and made jon snow watch." Lady Catelyn's sudden sobbs and Lord Rickon's whimpers interrupted.

"Jon Snow lost the battle of the bastards. He ignored your good counsel, your grace. You told him that Ramsey would use Lord Rickon to lure him out to the open field and ambush his smaller force and that's exactly what happened. They were surrounded, pushed in on all sides being picked off one by one by Ramsey's soldiers when the knights of the vale rode in."

"Aye" the group of vale man cheered from their spot in the great hall.

"The vale rode for you, your grace. They didn't ride for the stark name, they rode for the lady Sansa. The knights rode in and broke the formation of Ramsey's men and won the battle. You gave Ramsey what he deserved your grace." Sansa lifted her chin, looking even more regal than she did before.

"You and Jon Snow took back winterfell and called all of us here. This time we all came and it was here that we proclaimed Jon Snow King in the North and you lady of winter and lady paramount of the north. For a time it was good, until the threat of the white walkers began to be imminent." Lord Glover stopped to take a deep breath, he surveyed the high table. Queen Sansa was letting in emotion show, Lady Catelyn, Lord Robb and Lord Snow were all visibly distressed. The remaining starks were listening intently.

"Word came that Daenerys Targaryen had landed on Dragonstone with an army of 8 thousand Unsullied and 100,000 Dothraki riders and three full grown dragons. Jon snow knew the north didn't have the men to stop the dead. The dead would wipe us out if we didn't get allies, powerful allies, quickly. He decided to go to dragonstone and meet the dragon queen and ask for her assistance." The mention of the dragon queen made all the gathered lords curse under their breaths.

"You argued against this your grace. You said the king in the north should stay in the north. That you couldn't trust this Targaryen invader, who's father had burned your grandfather and uncle. You argued who would he leave in charge in his absence, who could he trust with winterfell. The last time your family had trust someone with winterfell it was lost. The last time you trusted someone with a member of your family, you were betrayed and your family killed. Who was he going to leave winterfell and you to? He surprised us all when he declared he was leaving the north to no lord, he would leave the north to you and you alone." Both Lord Jon and Robb turned to look at Sansa when Lord Glover said that.

"If I'm being honest my lady, I'll admit that i thought you just a young girl that was being controlled and manipulated by Littlefinger. While Jon was away you build up our food stores and the armory. You called all the banners back to winterfell in order to prepare for the great war. During this time your sister lady arya and brother lord bran returned home. It was when they return home that you really began to show how truly clever you are, your grace." Arya smirked at Lord Glover from her place at the high table.

"Littlefinger thought he could manipulate you into excuating your sister, he thought he could twist your mind into believing everything that he told you was true. You fooled him and you fooled everyone else until the last moment, your grace." Lady Catelyn looked over at Lord Ned shocked she had never really thought Littlefinger that much of a threat to them.

"You called the lords to this hall, under the guise of putting your sister on trial for murder, exactly according to littlefingers plan. You outsmarted him when you accused him instead of her. Littlefinger couldn't even defend himself, he was so taken aback and before all the lords of the north you sentenced him to death for his crimes of murdering your aunt lysa, conspiring in the death of jon arryn, conspiring with joffery barratheon and cersei lannister to frame and execute your father lord Ned and treason against the north. You passed the sentence and lady arya executed right where I stand now." Lord Glover raised his voice.

"It wasn't long after that, that jon snow returned with the dragon queen in tow. You didn't trust her from the moment that you laid eyes on her your grace. Jon Snow had bent the knee and given away the north's independence. You refused to accept this and when Daenarys came to you to try and find common ground with you. You asked her to her face what would happen to the north after the dead were defeated and cersei was dethroned. Daenarys had no answer you wanted to hear because she wanted to rule the seven kingdoms unquestioned." Jon Snow was shamefaced sitting at the high table, he couldn't understand why he had done the things he had done.

"The long night was appone us. The dragon queens armies marched with us, they covered us when the northerns army was forced to retreat, she had lost one of her dragons earlier, to the night king when she had gone north of the wall with jon snow to see for herself that it was true. She lost half of her unsullied, half of her dothraki and her most trusted and loyal kight ser jorah. All this but it was Arya Stark who killed the night king, arya stark, the hero of winterfell, the savior of men." Lord Glover exclaimed. All the gathered men joined in and cheering in with him.

All the starks looked over at Arya in shock, Sansa look at Arya with pride clear on her face and Arya looked back at her a small smile on her face. "The death of the night king, made all his soldiers fall, the fight was over, at great cost. The next day we burnt our dead and Daenarys called a war council to discuss her taking kings landing and the iron throne. In this was council you advocated for rest for the soldier's your grace. Daenarys took insult to this and insisted that the north does not keep its promise of aid to her and jon snow again disregarded your good counsel and instead sided with Daenarys and marched the northern army south." Lord Glover grimsed as he spoke.

"As they marched, they were ambushed by Euron Greyjoy and her second dragon was killed and her beloved handmaiden was kidnapped and later beheaded in front of her by cercei. It was at this time it was revealed to Daenarys that Jon snow was the son of lyanna stark and rhaegar targaryen, making him the true heir the iron throne. Vary's had grown displeased with her leadership and he decided to commit treason against her and try and conspire to set Jon snow on the iron throne without his knowledge." Jon looked over at Sansa in disbelief remembering their softly spoken conversation in the crypts the night he had been told of his parentage.

"Varys was told this information by Lord Tyrion Lannistor, he knew it because you, your grace told him. You could see that Daenary's was not what she claimed to be and you knew that Jon snow would be a better king then she would ever be. Varys did exactly what you expected him to do. He began to plot to place jon snow on the throne instead of Daenerys, Lord Tyrion discovered this and told her about vary's betrayal. Vary's was put to death, burned by her last dragon." Lord Glover said.

"Daenary's then did exactly what you expect her to do. She took kings landing with fire and blood. She rode her dragon and lit the streets on fire, her army marched the streets and killed, pillaged and raped the people of kings landinging, im ashamed to say that some of our men took part in it. Jon Snow tried to stop them but in the rush and heat of the moment it was almost impossible to stop. Cercei was defeated, the city surrendered, the bells sounded and Daenary's kept the slaughter going anyway." Lord Glover said as his voice shook in rage.

"When it was finally over, the flames were finally out. Daenary's gathered her armies in the ruins of the red keep to give her victory speech. What a speech it was, she detailed how she wasn't done. She wouldn't be done until dorne, winterfell and the rest of the world were liberated according to her. It was after this speech that lord tyrion, the last lannister now that both cersei and jaime had perished in the destruction of the king's landing. He resigned from his position of the hand of the queen and was arrested for treason while jon snow watched." Jon watched Lord Glover talk in complete shock, for the millionth time since he woke up, he wished that he remember this life, so that he could understand the choices he had made.

"Jon snow visited Tyrion in his cell. The conversation that they had would change the course of the seven kingdoms. Tyrion told jon snow that Daenary's had lost herself in her own idea of her destiny, in her own idea of a perfect world that she forgot about the people, forgot that she wasn't always right. Tyrion asked, without using the words, he asked jon snow to end Daenary's life." Lord Glover voice softened toward the end.

"From the cells Jon Snow walked straight to the ruins of the throne room, where Daenary's was, walking through a mix of snow and ash. Her last dragon was guarding the entryway to the throne room, Jons approach woke it, the beast let him past for jon snow is blood of the dragon. He confronted her about the burning of king's landing and the execution of the lannisters men that were still undergoing even in those moments. She begs him to be with her, to build this new world of her together, to break the wheel with her. Jon snow swear his loyalty one last time to her and during a lovers kiss, he stabbed her through the heart and held her close while she died." Lord Glover looked over at Jon with admiration in his eyes, no hint of hate for his dishonor of becoming a queenslayer.

"When a raven came to tell you of these events your grace, you did something that the young wolf, never did, that he couldn't, that he refused to do. You gathered your remaining bannerman and you marched us south. Once south we joined with the rest of the northern army and we surrounded the army and demanded the return of jon snow." Robb looked over at Sansa in shock, he had never rescued her but she marched to rescue Jon.

"You were called to a meeting of all the surviving great houses, your grace in the dragon pit. Where both prisoners tyrion and jon were to be brought forth for their judgment, went only tyrion was brought you were quick to remind the unsullied captain that the north had the city surrounded. This meeting would become known as the kings moot, tyrion put forward Brandon stark as the next king of the seven kingdoms and put it up to a vote. When the vote reached you, your grace, you were silent, the last deciding vote was yours and you were silent." Lord Glover said as Robb, Jon, Ned and Carelyn looked over at her in shock and disbelief that she would not support her brother.

"Queen Sansa turned toward her brother," came Ser Brienne voice from place in the corner. " I love you little brother and i always will and you'll be a good king, but tens of thousand of northmens fell in the great war defending all of westeros and those who survived have seen too much and fought too hard to ever kneel again. The north will remain an independent kingdom like it was for thousands of years. Queen Sansa said. She did not bargain for the north's independence, she demanded it and she got it." Ser Brienne said with great passion.

"Yes, you deliver us an independent north. There was to be a stark on the iron throne but that wasn't good enough for you. The north had to be independent that was the only outcome you would accept. The unsullied would not allows jon snow to go unpunished, therefore Bran sentenced him to the night's watch. You and your siblings met him on the harbor to say your goodbyes, it was here that Aegon Targaryen bent the knee to Brandon Stark, the targaryen dynasty was over." Lord Glover sighed.

"When you returned to winterfell, your grace, you asked us who we would have lead us and we crowned you queen in the north. After your coronation, you did something that didn't surprise any of us. You summoned Jon snow to Winterfell and pardoned him for the death of Daenarys." Jon looked over at Sansa in shock, he had thought that there was no way he would ever be forgiven.

"After you announced his pardon, you told him to kneel. While he knelt you asked him if he would take his father's name. Would he be the last Targaryen. Still on his knees he rejected his father name. Very well, you are the only true born son of Lyanna stark. Daughter of Lord Richard Stark, sister of Brandon Stark, Eddard Stark and Benjamin Stark. Rise Jon of house stark, and be forever more a stark of winterfell. You said." Lord Glover spoke as Jon looked over at Sansa in complete shock. That's all he had ever wanted.

"You legitamazied him and you asked him to stay in Winterfell and be your hand. Lord Stark declined, he was so haunted from the wars, all of them and the death of Daenary's still weighed on him heavily. He thought that he deserved to be punished, he decided to return to the true north, past the wall where his wildling friends had made their home." Jon again glanced over at Sansa, this time her tully blue eyes locked with his. There was something that he couldn't decipher deep in her eyes. Something that made his whole chest feel warm with an emotion that he'd never felt before, it felt like love but more and deeper than he had ever felt before. Why was that feeling overtaking him, while he gazed at his cousin?

"After his departure, you ruled the north and you rules it well, your grace. You rebuild our homes and our land. You kept us fed and warm during this long winter. You rallied the whole north to you, you build border towns and introduced trade with not only the south but also the wildings. You brought us real, true peace. You gathered us here to ask whether we would prefer or try to challenge you in the name of any of the men of your blood that have risen from the dead. I respected Lord Eddard, I named Lord Robb king and i supported king jon however none of them accomplish what you did. None of them gave us what you did." Lord Glover said as he grew his sword.

Lord Glover, got down on one knee, and offered up his sword. "From the day we placed the direwolf crown upon your head, to your last day. The north knows no queen, but the queen in the north whose names is sansa stark. The first of her name, the only surviving child of Eddard and Catilyn Stark, the survivor, the unifier of the north, the liberator, the red wolf of winterfell. We will follow you until you draw your last breath and after you, those of our blood will follow, that which you name heir. The princess Lyarra will never lose the north." Lord Glover said passionately as she looked directly into sanasa eyes.

Lord Glover rose from his kneeling position slowly, as sansa slowly rose from her chair. The other lords, got to their feet drawing their swords, lifting them high above their heads as they chanted. "The Queen and Princess in the North" Sansa stood behind the tables and look out at her gathered lords as they chanted for her. She allowed a small smile to grace her lips before she looked over at gathered family and saw that everyone one of them gazed back at her with pride.


End file.
